A 10-year-old boy paralyzed last week by a stray bullet rested and played video games at Children’s Hospital Oakland on Tuesday as the alleged shooter appeared in court on five felony charges, including attempted murder and robbery.

Jared Lacey Adams, 24, who was injured in a police pursuit that led to his arrest, hobbled to the defendant’s podium and groaned in pain during the brief court appearance. Wearing a yellow Alameda County Jail jumpsuit, Adams kept a stern face as his case was postponed until Jan. 29.

Police say Adams robbed a gas station Thursday night on Pleasant Valley Road at Piedmont Avenue, and that he fired shots on his way out. One of the bullets, investigators say, sailed through the wall of a North Oakland music school where Christopher Rodriguez was taking a piano lesson.

Doctors say Christopher, a fifth-grader at Crocker Highlands Elementary School, is not likely to walk again.

Outside of court, a woman who said she was the mother of Adams’ child and another man declined to talk about the case.
“We won’t comment until we know more,” said the man, who refused to identify himself.

Meanwhile, Christopher remained in the intensive care unit. He played Nintendo _ a recent addition to his hospital quarters _ to take his mind off the pain, said his father, Richard Rodriguez.

Rodriguez said the boy seemed to be doing a little bit better, but that he is still not able to eat because of his internal injuries.

“He’s got a lot of healing to go,” Rodriguez said.

Crocker Highlands families are holding a bake sale and fund drive Wedneday to help the family pay for the boy’s care. The event begins at 1:30 p.m. at 525 Midcrest Drive. A trust, under the name of Christopher G. Rodriguez, has also been created for the family at the Wells Fargo branch at 151 40th St. in Oakland.

Rodriguez said he hopes the tragedy will spur residents to rise up against gun violence in Oakland. He said he felt Mayor Ron Dellums has been unfairly criticized for not doing enough to stop it.

“It’s not the mayor’s fault,” Rodriguez said. “He inherited this problem. It’s all these guns out there being used for crime. Everyone has to take more responsibility, and not be silent when they see things happening.”

Katy Murphy is based in Sacramento and covers state government for The Mercury News and East Bay Times, a beat she took on in January 2017. Before that, she was the news organization's higher education reporter, writing about UC, CSU, community colleges and private colleges. Long ago, she covered Oakland schools and other K-12 education issues.